Wave motor



June 16, 1925.

l. M. Menen.

wlw: loron l mind pax-cb 1 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 www x rrr l. M. MCNEIL WAVE MOTOR June 16,. 1925.

Filed March 1- 1924 2 Sheets-ShamI 2 wi, ll

Fatented June 16, V`1925.

` UNITED "STATES e n IsAAc M. MCNEIL, or

.PATENT OFFICE.

VENICE, CALIFORNIA.

f '1 'Wave Moron. l l i .5 if

'l Application lerl March 1,

To all whom it may ooncewt! Be it 'known that I, IsAAo M. McNEiL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Venice, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have kinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Wave Motors, of which the following is a specification. e

My invention relates to wave motors, and a purpose of my invention is the provision of a wave motor to provide simple, durab-le and eiiicient means for'converting thepower of the waves into useful work,

It is also Va. purpose of my invention to 1924. seriai No. 696,359.Y

,a support for the arms of both units. The varms 2O are graduated in length and are operatively connected' t0v the elements E g through links 24, such elements being designed to transmitthe rocking motion of the lever to a shaft journaled in bearings secured to the cross bars 19. Each element E, as clearly illustrated inFigures 3 and 4, comprises a pair of plates 26 provided with slots 27 to accommodate the shaft v25 and if, provide a wave motor including a plurality to thereby allow reciprocating movement of of' float operated reciprocating elements Awhich are associated with one or more shafts to effect rotation of the shafts in one direction.

I will describe only one form of wave motor embodying my invention, and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.' Y

In the drawingsy t Figure 1 is a' view' showing in top plan one form kof wave motor embodying myy invention; y

Figure 2 K4is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on theline 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure '4 is a horizontal sectional Vview taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.v ,Referring specifically to the drawings,in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, my invention in its present embodiment comprises a pier designated generally at P, and including parallel rails or beams 15 'connected at intervals byL cross bars 16 and supported in elevated position above a body of water by means of piles 17 connected by intersecting brace rods 18. The pier, as clearly illustrated in Figure 2, extends from the shore outwardly above the water to any suitable point, and at its outer end it isl provided with lateral extensions P and .P2 which are constructed in a manner similar to the pier Pand include transverse beams 19. -Each pier extension P and P isprovided with va wave motor unit, and as the two units are identical in construction a description of one will suffice for both.

Each motor unit comprises a plurality of rocker arms 2O fulcrumed between their ends on an axle 21 supported in brackets 22, and as .Shewsin ,Figure i this axle provides.

the plates upon vthe shaft. Connecting pins or rivets 28 serve to secure the plates 26j in spaced relation to each other and to provide attaching means for chains 29 and 29a and springs 30 and 30a. These chains and springs are arranged in the manner shown Vin Figure 3, and are adapted to have engagement with the toothed periphery 31 ,of

a ratchet wheel 32, thel latterbeing keyed to l the shaft 25 and arrangedA between the 'plates 26, as shown in Figure 4. c The plates 26 are slidably supported in frames 33 rigidly secured tothe cross beams 19 and arranged on an incline so that the plates will move in an inclined path under the action of the rocking arm 20. The links 24 are connected tothe lower ends of the plates 26 to allow the unrestricted movement of the rocker arm 2O while atthe same time transmitting the motion of the upper end of the arm to the plates. n

By ,this construction and arrangement it will. be seenthat `during upward movement ofthe elements E the chain 29 will engage the teeth 31 of the wheel 32 and thus rotate the latter in a counter-clockwise direction as when viewed in Figure 3, to impart a corresponding movement to the shaft 25. During this movement the teeth of the wheel 32 slip on the chain 29a, and any tendency of the wheel to pull the chain longitudinally is compensated for by means of the spring 38.I During downward movement of the plates 26 the chain 29a engages the teeth 31 of the wheel 32 to effect rotation of the latter in the same direction, the wheel slipping over the surface of the chain 29, and the spring 30 compensating for any longitudinal movement of the chain. In this operation it will be seen that under the recita-*Oosting movement et the ,Plates 26 the les chains and ratchet Wheel operate to rotate the shaft 25 in one and the same direction at all times.

The rotary motion of the shaft 25 is transmitted to a shaft 34 journaled in bearings carried by the cross beams 16 of the pier P,

and the shaft 34; 'is adapted to extend rear-4 wardly along the pier to the shore, Where the motion of said shaft may be connected to any's'uitable apparatus for converting the power of the Wavesvinto useful `Work. Als shown in Figure rl, theshaft 25 is provided with a clutch operated'by a lever 36 to operatively connect) a bevel gear 3T to a similar gear y38 keyed tothe shaft 34. The shaft 25 of the other' unit i's *providedy with a similar clutch 35 for operatively connecting a gear 37a to a gear 38a" keyed to" the shaft 84K.

InA the v operation -of the Wave motor, the WavesV operate Ato move the floats-23 gvertically, thereby rocl'rin'g the arms 20 about the axle 21 as a center :to effect a reciprocatingk movement of the elements `This reciprocating movement is convertedinto unidirectional rotaryy movement through Ithe chains and ratchet wheels inL the manner pievionsly described, lnzhereby rotation of the haftsl 25l in the same direction is effected. Through tlfiel gears 37,v 38, etc. the motion pfui@ shafts 251s transmitted to the shaft 24, and shouldnt@ desired ,that @my one unit lof the Vmotoroi'iera'te, the other finit. be disconnected from the shaft 34 througha clutch 35, y 1 A,

,,Byireference,towlfigure 1 it `will be seen that because of the graduated lengths of the arms 20it:is possible to arrange theii'oats 23. in.` overlapped relation, which permits the compact nesting of thefloats', and `which disposes lthellioats atdifferent points so as to be successiyely moved ,by ,a y single Wave inteffectingf titleAseparatet operation of the floats and arms and in utilizingto a max-,imum eXtentthe. powerof a ivave.^, Should anylof the.floats '23,'re1nain' stationary the corresponding mches wheel si win Stili be free to rotate Without actuating the plates 26, because by virtue of the expansible or resilient supporting means forv the chains the teeth ofthe ratchet wheel will slip over the surfaces of the chains and thus prevent movement of the chains and floats. i

Although I have herein shown and described but oneV form of Wave motor embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made herein Without departing from the spirit of the invent-ion andV the spirit and sco'peo'f the appended claims.

Vhat' is claimed is:

1., In combination, an arm, a shaft, spaced plates mounted for restricted movement on the shaft,I a. linlr connectionY between' the one end ofthe arm and the plates, a ratchet wheel fixed to the shaft between the plates, and chains between'and seciired tothe plates forenglagement With the ratchet Wheel at diametrically opposed points, ,said chains having oneI of their ends `connected to the plates by means of springs, for the purpose described. l

, 2'. In' combination, apivoted'arm, a' shaft, a ratchet Wheell fixed to the shaft, ameniber mounted for reciprocating movement on the shaft and operatively connected to the arm, and yieldingly supported chains mounted on the members to alternately engag'ethe ratchet Wheel when the member is reciprocated to effect unidirectional rotation of the Wheel. c

3. In combination, a pivoted arm, a shaft, stationary guides, spaced plates sldably mountedv inthe guides andoperatively connected to the army, said plates being slotted to receive lthe shaft, a ratchetwheel fixed to the shaft between Vthe plates, and yielding-ly supportedchains mounted on and betweenv the plates to alternately engage the ratchet lWheel when theplates are reciprocated to effect unidirectional rotation of the shaft.

Tsar-c M. Mmm. 

